Process of making a novel starch product.



ARTHUR S. HOYT, OF NEW YORK,

N. Y., essrenon. r 'rrrn ARTHUR s. HOYT COMPANY,

OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

rnocnss or MAKING A novnn STARCH rnonuc'r.

No Drawing.

, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented -certain new and useful Improvements in the Process of Makmga Novel ing is a specification.

This invention relates to a process for the manufacture of a novel product from the treatment of the starchy content of wheat a powder which by buminous materials.

flour and the like whereby there is produced th mere addition of water, hot or cold, is rendered fit for 1mmediate application to clothes in thelr treat ment in the laundry. v 1

The present laundry starch of commerce cdhsists'of the heavier particles of the material which separates out from the starch water'in the treatment of the dough. It is more Orders itiixdWith albumen and al- After the separation referred to it is heated and dried and crystallizes more or less. When 1t 1s desired to use such starch for laundry purposes, that is, for the stifiemng of the fabric, water is added to it which penetrates between its particles to form a paste and 1t is then cooked forming an opalescent elly, which is applied to the clothes which. are dr1ed I usually. by the ap lication of heat and they are then subjects to the ironing process,

- during which the starch is again heated.

Each time starch is heated-it loses some of its strength or stifl'ening power and it is therefore desirable not to heat it oftener than necessary, and it has long been desirablp to find some way by which one or more of the heatings referred to could be omitted.

lln the preparation of'the starch of commerce for laundry use it has been found practically impossible to secure any uniformity in the condition and character of the starch jelly made at difierent times. llhat is, the inevitable changes in circumstances of cooking, the amount and quality of the water, the varying degrees of heat, and of water, for instance, a deficiency of water when dry cooking is employed and an excess of water when steam is employed, and

\ other circumstances which are apt to vary,

v Specification of Letters Patent. I

Starch Product, of which the follownot properly stlfi'ened and causes the procause practically every batch of starch produced in the laun p'lry to be difierent from every other. This lack ofuniformity results in a relatively great expense to the laundryman because in practically every lot of clothes submitted to him for treatment the lack of uniformity in the starch results in the bad starching of clothes which are with starch in order to bring them to a.

merchantable condition. If it were not for the occurrenceof wash-overs the laundryman would almost always safely promise the delivery of the laundried clothes in onehalf the time which he now has to demand in order to" be sure to have time enough to treat the wash-overs. In addition, owing to the uncertainty in the production of a suitable character of starch elly in any one batch, it is always necessary to make more than the quantity actually necessary, and this excess can not be saved for future use, for owing, it is presumed, to its albuminous content, the water separates out and the material spoils. Therefore, the lack of standard quality in the'starch jelly produced results in a relative serious economic loss of time, money and material.

I have discoveredthat by removing the greater portion or the whole of the albumen from the starch and cooking it before it is jellified and reducing the resultant solid material to a finely divided state I produce a powder which by the mere addition of water, cold or warm, is converted into a starch jelly suitable for immediate applica- Patented July 2?, i915. Application filed Decemben26, 1914. Serial No. 879,041.

tion to the fabricsto be stiffened and which when kept. On account of the fact that the starch has not been heated as often as usual lit in the production and use of the laundry starch of'commerce its stiffening power or strength is much greater.

The product which is the result of my cipally mechanical, the flour is first kneaded into a paste with water. After allowing this to remain in this condition for a short time, one or two hours for example, it is Washed through a sieve whereby the starch is separated and the insoluble gluten of the.

flour remains upon the sieve in the form of an adhesive mass. The washing of the dough is continued until the water ceases to be milky from the presence of the starch Washed out of it. There is thus secured a body of water containing particles of starch in suspension. A condensation or further separation of the starch is then secured, either by allowing it to settle in suitable tanks in which the heavier particles slowly collect at the bottom and the lighter particles remain inysuspension in the supernatant liquid, or it is treated in centrifugal machines in which the heavier particles are driven to the circumference and the lighter particles collected at thecenter of'the apparatus.

The usual starch of commerce consists 'of' the material which settles at the bottom of tanks of'the character described, orissecured from the circumference of the cengal with a trifugal machines. Such starch always contains a noticeable. amount of albumen or albuminous materials mixed therewith. The water contained in the starchy mass is removed in a number of ways well known to the art and which it is not necessary to describe, but after the water has been substantially removed the mass is placed in heated drying chambers wherein it slowly becom'es crystallized and is then put into packages to be dispensed to the trade.

In carrying out my process I take the I starch mixed with water as it comes from the settlingtanks or from the centrifugal machines above described and treat it so as {to remove the whole or greater part of its 3 albuminous content. This may be done in I various ways but the one which I prefer is to place the material in another centrifuplentiful quantity of water, and which centrifugalhas suitable ap ertures at its rim. Upon operating the device the wa-' ter passes out through these apertures carrying with it the bulk of the albifini'nous clinging to the inner periphery of the apparatus, the mass ofthe refined may be that this treatment a single time will suffice to remove the albumen, but in ractice I have found that it is advisab e to sub ect the starch to. a second treatment of or urified starch. It

1,14s,aes

substantially the saine nature. The purified starch is then treated to remove the bulk of the water therefrom. This may beaccomp'lished by any suitable mechanical means such as filtration or. settling, enough of the water being left to insure its cooking without burning. The residue is then cooked in any usual manner, but the manner which I prefer is to'place the material in a digester or cooker to which heat may be applied in any suitable manner until, under the action of heat, transparency or translucency ensues and the starch has been converted into the form of an opalescent jelly. I next dry this jelly in any suitable manner. One manner which I prefer is to bring the material into contact with rollers heated by steam in a any usual manner so as to spread it over a large surface and to economize the amount of heat which needs to be employed to accomplish the desired result. It is removed from the roller in the form of flakes and may, if desired, be reduced to powder in any suitable manner.

When the powder is to be used a suitable quantity is treated witheither cold, or preferably slightly warm, water until it again assumes the character of an opalescent elly and is ready for use.

It should be noted that one heating of the starch is avoided by taking it directly from the separation tanks or centrifugals before it. is dried or allowed to crystallize, and that no heating'is required of the powder to make, it available for use, thus effecting an economy also at that stage of its use.

" What I claim is:

1'. The process of treating the starchy and albuminous materials separated from .the glutenv in the manufacture of wheat consistsin first treating a mixture of starch and albuminous material to remove the bulk of the latter therefrom, second, cooking the residue with sufficient water to prevent burning until a jelly is produced and third, drying the jell 4. 'The proce ss of producing a novel article of manufacture for laundry use which consists in first treating a mixture of starch and albuminous material to remove the bulk of the latter therefrom, second, removing all ing, third, cooln'ng the same to a jelly, and fourth, drying the jelly.

the water except suflicient to prevent burn- 5. The process of producing a novel article of manufacture for laundry use which consistsv in first treating -a mixture of starch and albuminous materialto remove the bulk of the latter therefrom, second, removing all the Water except sufi'lcient to prevent burning, third,cooking the same to a jelly, fourth, removing the Water from the jelly and reducing the resultant product to powder.

In testlmony whereof I aifix my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

-Witnesse's:

MARY H. LEWIS, ALBA L. MILLER.

ARTHUR s. Horn. 

